Circolife raises $4.5 million in pre-Series A funding
Climatetech startup Circolife has raised $4.5 million in a pre-Series A round led by Polycab India's Bharat Jaisinghani.
Circolife has secured $4.5 million, approximately 40.45 crore rupees, in a pre-Series A funding round. The investment was led by Bharat Jaisinghani, the joint managing director of Polycab India.
The round included participation from a wide array of investors. These included Nazara founder Nitish Mittersain, Intelliquity Ventures, and Param Capital. Other backers were Everest Fleet founder Siddharth Ladsariya, Anand Ladsariya of Everest Flavours, and Anant Goenka, executive director of the Indian Express. Sky Impact Capital, Ideas91 founder Rohit Dev, and the family offices S N Damani and Vyom Wealth also joined the funding.
Use of Funds
The Thane-based startup will use the new capital for several strategic initiatives. Primary goals include expanding its air conditioning fleet and entering new geographical markets. The company also plans to scale its in-house installation and field-service operations. A portion of the investment will be directed toward enhancing its IoT and AI capabilities.
Founded in 2023 by Abhishek Murarka, Tushar Patil, and Devanshu Mishra, Circolife operates on a subscription model for commercial air conditioning. Businesses pay a monthly fee to use AC units while Circolife manages installation, maintenance, and eventual refurbishment or replacement. This model targets segments like restaurants, hotels, gyms, salons, and co-living operators.
Business Scale and Targets
Circolife currently reports around 10,000 active subscriptions across five cities. With the fresh funding, the startup is targeting a fourfold increase in its customer base over the next two years. The company operates two refurbishment facilities, located in Mumbai and Delhi, where AC units are reconditioned and redeployed at the end of their service life.
Technology and Service Model
Every AC unit in Circolife's fleet is connected via an IoT layer. This system monitors key parameters such as temperature, power consumption, and gas pressure. The data feeds into a predictive-maintenance system designed to identify potential equipment failures before they cause a breakdown.
The startup is also developing digital twins of individual AC units and eventually entire sites. It aims to use the aggregated fleet data to optimise cooling performance and energy efficiency at both the unit and property level.
The investment reflects growing interest in Cooling as a Service (CaaS) models in India. In this model, businesses pay per unit of cooling delivered instead of purchasing expensive equipment outright. This approach provides an alternative to owning energy-intensive assets, while service providers retain ownership and manage the equipment's full lifecycle.
This funding occurs amid continued investor interest in India's climatetech sector, which spans energy, mobility, and other climate-focused businesses. For instance, Bengaluru-based Newtrace secured $6.3 million in a Pre-Series A round in March to boost its commercialisation efforts.
